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Anxiety

Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in Australia. Share your own story and learn about other member’s experiences with anxiety.

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BeyondBlue Hi! Check out this post if you're not sure how to start
  • replies: 0

Hi there and welcome to the Anxiety section of the Forums First of all, thank you so much for joining us here. We think it’s amazing that you’ve taken this step to getting support and learning from this Community. You are very welcome here and we are... View more

Hi there and welcome to the Anxiety section of the Forums First of all, thank you so much for joining us here. We think it’s amazing that you’ve taken this step to getting support and learning from this Community. You are very welcome here and we are really interested in what you might want to add to these conversations. We get it, having anxiety makes it hard to share in a public place. Remember, this is anonymous and the Beyond Blue team are here to help if you need it This section is for people who are experiencing anxiety in some form in their lives. This might be in social settings, at work, or just in the day to day. You don’t need a diagnosis to post here. If it feels like the right spot for your post, go right ahead! We know that feeling anxious can make it hard to reach out so we want you to know that getting this far is amazing and a great start. A few tips for getting the most out of this section: Get involved when you can! Posting and replying is the heartbeat of this community and you DO have something worthwhile to share (when you’re ready ) Every experience is different. There is no competition here. We know how challenging anxiety can be and how it comes in all shapes and sizes. What you are experiencing will be respected and supported here. Trust yourself! You are the expert in your experience. This community works because people like you share what has worked for you. Thank you for getting involved and taking a look. We can’t wait to hear from you! Beyond Blue

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Trying55 Is it OCD or is it normal?
  • replies: 6

Hi, So for the past few years since I was about seventeen, I have been struggling with OCD. Before the event that triggered this, I was completely rational about things and did not feel any compulsions to subdue my obsessions. However, since acquirin... View more

Hi, So for the past few years since I was about seventeen, I have been struggling with OCD. Before the event that triggered this, I was completely rational about things and did not feel any compulsions to subdue my obsessions. However, since acquiring the condition, life has been very different. I am trying to learn to overcome and resist my compulsive hand washing but, a continuous obstacle that seems to arise is my inability to identify what an anxious response to a situation is and what a normal response would be. I honestly feel so immersed in my anxious thinking that I feel I have forgotten what a practical hygienic response is to things. So, how do you know what a normal response is? How do you know whether you're overreacting or not? How do you know whether you're thought is completely reasonable or just a manifestation of your anxiety? I honestly I have no idea whether any of this really makes sense but I'm hoping someone will be able to somewhat understand what I mean. Thank you for your time, Trying55

Fizz_wizz First time posting anxiety about work
  • replies: 19

Hi everyone this is my first time posting so I hope I'm doing it right. I have always suffered with anxiety and depression and got help and have been great for 10 years. I have worked in retail In the same place for 7 years and I was happy but recent... View more

Hi everyone this is my first time posting so I hope I'm doing it right. I have always suffered with anxiety and depression and got help and have been great for 10 years. I have worked in retail In the same place for 7 years and I was happy but recently got the opportunity to move into a different roll in a different store but same company I have totally freaked out with panic attacks vomiting and not eating and just wanting to hide, my anxiety is consuming me I have a choice to stick it out or go back to what I was doing before with the chance I get less hours I'm really confused and don't no which way to go if anyone has any advice I'd really appreciate it.

BorderCollie Pit in stomach makes a come back
  • replies: 8

Hi all, I've never done this before and feel like a bit of a flog, but figured it might help to share. I upset someone yesterday, & being a people pleaser I've found it hard to shake. I was sort of seeing this guy, I think he may have overreacted but... View more

Hi all, I've never done this before and feel like a bit of a flog, but figured it might help to share. I upset someone yesterday, & being a people pleaser I've found it hard to shake. I was sort of seeing this guy, I think he may have overreacted but regardless he doesn't want to see me anymore. I'm fine with that, because I know he did things that upset me too and deep down I knew he wasn't a good match, so this is probably a blessing in disguise. However the beauty of GAD has got me thinking he'll run my name through the dirt, which is completely out of my control I know.. but it's also got me questioning whether I'm a good person and all sorts of shitty thoughts that I was managing, up until today. I've also lately had a pit feeling in my stomach, which to be honest I haven't had since I was a little girl and didn't know how to cope with it all. I would usually call my mum but I feel like I rely on her too much. I think I'm just having a bad day and feeling very unsure of myself, but if anyone has any tips on how to stay present I'd love to hear them. My head at the moment is thinking about yesterday and thinking about tomorrow. I've learned a lot this last year about myself and how to manage my anxiety, and I've been warned by my psych that I'm bound to have days where I go back to "the old ways'' which today certainly has been. I just thought I would try a different avenue in self help, so thanks for anyone who is willing to listen or respond. Cheers

Tigerlily77 Ruminating Thoughts
  • replies: 1

12 Months ago I weened off my SSRI medication in the hope that i would be able to deal with my anxiety more holistically. The SSRI I was taking effected my libido and after being with my now partner for 2.5 yrs . That was the only re negative side ef... View more

12 Months ago I weened off my SSRI medication in the hope that i would be able to deal with my anxiety more holistically. The SSRI I was taking effected my libido and after being with my now partner for 2.5 yrs . That was the only re negative side effect however it started to bother me and needless to say my partner was pressuring me to stop taking them because of this. I knew however that they were keeping me together but thought maybe if i found a way to fix my brain chemistry then i wouldn't need them take them again and so the last 12 months began with serious withdrawals and brain balancing and learning new coping strategies. I have spent a small fortune of blood tests, naturopaths and supplements which 12 months later I'm still struggling. I feel like I've done everything i can do holistically to reduce my anxiety even removed my contraceptive implant and have also started living a life alcohol free (not as easy to do as i thought) after realizing that I had been using my nightly few glasses of wine to self medicate for the better part of the last 15 yrs. I feel a million times better physically however after huge life stressors in the last 6 months I am having crippling ruminating thoughts and looking at going back on medication again due to obsessive ruminating thoughts about the most ridiculous things. I obsess about any slight irritation . Mainly sensory things that bother me like noise and smell. Over the last few years I've become really noise sensitive and it has consumed by life the last few months mainly because once something bothers me I can not stop thinking about it and I become obsessed with fixing it even when its totally out of my control. Its become debilitating to the point that i'll end up crying in frustration because it just wont stop. Does anyone have any suggestions that work for them? I find it incredibly difficult to mediate and find repeating the mantra "stay here" to focus on what is right in front of me at that moment to stop the thoughts however my mind has often really gotten well away from me before i remember to do that. Thank you for listening ... This forum is such a safe place for me as its nice to have people understand what I'm going through with out the "crazy" looks.

Why94 Weird symptoms, what should I do?
  • replies: 5

Hello. I'm Diego 23 years old, I'm new in this forum and new also in what I think is anxiety (I'm still trying to figure it out) I will try to keep it simple. Two months and a half ago I started having palpitations and feeling faint at work, I end up... View more

Hello. I'm Diego 23 years old, I'm new in this forum and new also in what I think is anxiety (I'm still trying to figure it out) I will try to keep it simple. Two months and a half ago I started having palpitations and feeling faint at work, I end up in ER where after an EKG they told me it was just stress or dehydration, after two days off I went back to work and ended in emergency again. This time the doctor booked me a holter monitor. I had to wait about 3 weeks for the visit and the results and those weeks where the worst of my life I think I experienced extreme anxiety, didn't feel to eat or go out or do anything because of the fear of having palpitations again. I was feeling dizzy, sick, and doomed. After I got the results of the holter monitor (they where fine) I felt more relaxed and stopped having panic attacks but now after two weeks that I don't feel that I'm anxious I started having weird symptoms like numbness in my limbs, burning in my arms and back of my neck, chill sensations on the left side of my face, aches and pains ecc. Just want to know if there is someone else that is having this same symptoms? What should I do? I went to see my GP and she just told me that it was anxiety, but how can she know without doing any tests? I too believe that this are side effects from my anxiety because it seems that if I ignore the symptoms or I keep my self busy they kind of disappear, It would like to verify that is not something else, after two months like this I start to feel desperate and I'm starting to think that I will be like this the rest of my life and that I'm doomed, it's not easy to ignore this symptoms and I'm scared to lose control and become crazy one day. Any recommendations? What symptoms do you have? How long before you recovered from this? I will be always like this? What should I do?

Pineapple8 Just learning.
  • replies: 4

I’m currently a full time university student and work part time as a coach. Over the past few months I’ve been experiencing excessive worrying and stress that I feel is always out of my control. In the past weeks these feelings of nervousness and nau... View more

I’m currently a full time university student and work part time as a coach. Over the past few months I’ve been experiencing excessive worrying and stress that I feel is always out of my control. In the past weeks these feelings of nervousness and nausea have become so uncontrollable and are really impacting my ability to carry out daily life. I find going to Uni and sitting in lecture halls so overwhelming, just going to work makes me feel so anxious and on edge, and I’ve also noticed I’m not doing the things I love as much. I was very much into the gym and now I just don’t feel like going? I used to love being up early and now I find myself sleeping in and even when I wake up I feel exhausted and I start worrying the second my eyes open. I took the leap yesterday and visited my gp as it almost feels unbearable and I’m started to become increasingly angry with myself (over these feelings)... I’m finding it really hard and feel somewhat alone? Self talk is the biggest thing I’m struggling with. I would love to hear some of your experiences and how to cope with this. Thank you

fakeplastictrees I think I'm having a mental breakdown.
  • replies: 3

I'm just really bothered by so much in recent days. There's just too much information and it's messing with my head. All the news that gets shown really messes with my head and makes me worry. I just don't know how to think rationally now. View more

I'm just really bothered by so much in recent days. There's just too much information and it's messing with my head. All the news that gets shown really messes with my head and makes me worry. I just don't know how to think rationally now.

Ashy20 Crippling anxiety
  • replies: 1

I thought that anxiety would be worse in high school than as an adult but here I am at 20 years old and I never thought I’d be in this situation where I was scared to leave the house because of my debilitating anxiety. I can only leave my house if I ... View more

I thought that anxiety would be worse in high school than as an adult but here I am at 20 years old and I never thought I’d be in this situation where I was scared to leave the house because of my debilitating anxiety. I can only leave my house if I stay in the car and even then if someone looks at me I get into a small panic attack. I’m one of those people that spirals very quickly and over thinks everything and thinks the worst and if im in public I can imagine every little thing that people around me would be saying about me right now and making fun of me and I spiral so quickly that I have to leave. When im with my family it’s a little easier to manage because I’m distracted a little more but If I’m just with my partner I can’t handle it, and I feel like im holding him back from doing all these fun things that he wants me to try because he loves and I just can’t. I won’t put myself in an unfamiliar situation, or even eat unfamiliar things or even try new things because I’m constantly afraid I’ll fail and people will laugh at me and I’ll be humiliated. I’m finally at the stage where I actually want to see someone but I can’t go alone, and I don’t want to talk to some stranger who’s just going to think im weird. My family has absolutely no idea and I just wish I could talk to my mum and dad about it and wish that they would come with me but they don’t live close to me and I feel like im just a burden to them and a disappointment.

jcat dissapointed with psychologist
  • replies: 10

hi everyone ive been seeing a psychologist for almost 12 months, only once a month or less due to cancelled appts etc, i see him for anxiety that was bought on due to stressing over a medical condition and the medical profession, he helped me alot in... View more

hi everyone ive been seeing a psychologist for almost 12 months, only once a month or less due to cancelled appts etc, i see him for anxiety that was bought on due to stressing over a medical condition and the medical profession, he helped me alot in our first few appts and got me to write a daily journal that i email him once a week, he was giving me feedback and suggestions back. Now the last few weeks, nothing, i emailed him a few weeks back with what i thought was a rather desperate journal about a new diagnosis and how i was not coping and got no reply so left it a few days and emailed him again complaining, he responded saying it sounded like i had everything sorted, left it at that, i sent this weeks journal which was again not bright and cheery and again no reply, now he knows some of my major issues are over feeling ignored and disregarded by the medical profession, losing faith in the medical profession and now here he is ignoring me. Ive now stopped writing my journal, because whats the point i have a appt with him on wednesday and simply dont want to go because i feel like he is another one that just does not care, i dont have any more option as i live in a rural town and i had already seen 2 physiologists who told me i was fine until i saw this one i just dont know what to do

Kmart96 Anxiety is controlling my life
  • replies: 1

First time poster here. I recently quit smoking weed after being a heavy user for the past year and a half. Having previously suffered from depression and anxiety, the withdrawals from weed have really brought the two out, especially the anxiety. I’m... View more

First time poster here. I recently quit smoking weed after being a heavy user for the past year and a half. Having previously suffered from depression and anxiety, the withdrawals from weed have really brought the two out, especially the anxiety. I’m getting almost daily panic attacks along with alarming physical symptoms like shortness of breath, muscle pain and twitches, headaches and sometimes dizziness. I’ve been to the doctors and hospital numerous times and have had so many tests that have ruled everything out, it’s just so scary. My psychiatrist recently put me on new medication which has also brought my anxiety out which is apparently normal before working. Just want to hear someone else that has gone through the same thing so I don’t feel so alone and afraid. Thanks in advance